In a movie, which is an application of silver halide photographic technique, subjects are photographed usually at a rate of 24 photographs per second, and then the resultant static images are projected on a screen successively at the same rate as that of photographing, thereby reproducing moving images on the screen. This method is based on silver halide photographic technique that continues to be improved over 100 years or more, and this method gives much higher quality for moving images than those of any other method for reproducing the images. Further, because the images can be enlarged in a screen with ease by virtue of this high quality of images, the method is suitable for appreciation of moving-images by a great number of people simultaneously. Therefore, a large number of theaters are established that have facilities for projecting pictures onto a large screen which allows a large number of people to appreciate the picture: a movie theater. However, for all processes from photographing through edition to screening, recently rapid developments of electronic technique and information processing technique are proposed as alternative means, which means can give quality for images that is equivalent to the conventional method, by utilizing digital image processing techniques. These means based on the digital image processing technique are characterized in that images can be easily handled though the progress of computers and good reproducibility can be attained on the basis of the characteristic of digital signals that are hardly deteriorated. Accordingly, for the movie based on silver halide photographic technique also, desired is acquisition of easiness or stability at processing laboratories while original quality is kept high. In particular, stability against storage or fluctuations of a developing solution is desired.
One important property out of photographic properties is the change of density of the white portion in a developed image, when a photograph is stored or a developing solution fluctuates.
Hitherto, a countermeasure against the fluctuation in the density of the white portion has been taken up as an important problem to be solved. The problem has been investigated mainly from the following viewpoints:
(1) Promotion of an outflow of a sensitizing dye and a dye at a washing step for preventing halation or irradiation for the purpose of promoting removal of unnecessary coloring ingredients, and (2) Search for compounds which have good influence on a light-sensitive silver halide emulsion and restrain fogging.
Regarding light-sensitive materials for movie-photographs, which are enlarged and projected on a screen for appreciation, sharpness of an image is an important requirement for image quality. In order to improve the sharpness, it is effective to use the above-described dye for preventing halation or irradiation. Therefore, proposed are various water-soluble dyes for preventing irradiation as described in, for example, JP-A-2-282244 (“JP-A” means unexamined published Japanese patent application), and various halation-preventing methods based on a dye-fixing manner as described in, for example, JP-A-11-95371, JP-A-55-155350, JP-A-55-155351, JP-A-55-92716, JP-A-63-197943, JP-A-63-27838, JP-A-64-40827, EP 15601 B1, EP 276566 A1, and WO 8/04794. However, any one of those is insufficient in order to prevent a white portion from fluctuation of density.
In particular, JP-A-2-282244 and JP-A-11-95371 each propose a dye which is dispersed, in a solid dispersion state, in a hydrophilic colloidal layer to remain in the layer and is easily removed by development in order to aim compatibility between prevention of a fluctuation of density of the white portion and halation-prevention based on the fix of dyes. However, the dye is insufficient for preventing the white portion from density fluctuation, in particular the density fluctuation after a long-time storage.
In general, silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials are each produced by forming a light-sensitive silver halide photographic emulsion layer (silver halide photographic light-sensitive layer), an antihalation layer, a protective layer, an intermediate layer, an undercoating layer, an antistatic layer, and so forth on an electrically insulating substrate, such as a plastic film.
In recent years, technique for producing silver halide color photographic light-sensitive materials has been remarkably improved; thus, a rise in the printing speed of images has been advancing. With this rise in the printing speed, there arises a new problem that powder drops or printing dust is generated in each step in the production process. Against the problem, disclosed are a method of specifying a hardening agent used in the antistatic layer, a method of specifying a structure of metal oxide particles as an antistatic agent, and a method of specifying a surface resistance value before and after development (see, for example, JP-A-8-36239, JP-A-2002-144493, and JP-A-10-62905).
However, when a higher-speed exposure is carried out to make the productivity higher, static electricity may be generated. Thus, a new improving technique has been required.